Did Daniel Survive?

Last time we saw Daniel he was setting his wife (and every other walker in the cellar) “free” by burning the Abigail estate to ash. BUT we never saw his body burn. Did he somehow manage to escape before the whole place went up? Yahoo TV recently sat down with Fear Executive Producer Dave Erickson to discuss Daniel’s fate. Here’s the final scene as a refresher:

Yahoo: We don’t really know exactly where Daniel is when the episode ends, do we?

David Erickson: Well, here’s what’s key, here’s what’s important: The characters on the show have seen this fire, and they know where Daniel was before the fire broke out, and so they definitely believe that he’s dead. Specifically for Ofelia, she’s going to have an interesting turn in the back [half] as a woman who was essentially trapped for a big chunk of her life, because she took care of her parents, and sacrificed a lot of her own life in order to do that. From my perspective, we didn’t see Daniel burn for a reason. Daniel Salazar’s story is done for the season, but my hope is we will see him return in Season 3.

Yahoo: So will we not see him again in Season 2?

DE: No one should hold their breath to see Daniel in the back half of Season 2. Ruben [Blades is] amazing, the character’s amazing, and this is, I think from the story perspective, it’s going to do good things for us, and then the hope is that when we get to Season 3, we can find a way to return him to the fold.

Yahoo: What can you tease about the second half of the season? Strand says he’s going back to the boat, if there is a boat, which is probably a pretty big if.

DE: We end the midseason [finale] in fracture, and that was the intention, so we know Travis will be with Chris, trying to help him regain his sanity. Madison flees with Strand and Ofelia and Alicia, and then Nick abandons them. We’ve got an interesting opportunity from a narrative perspective, because this group that’s been stuck together has to go out and fend for themselves. I think the other interesting thing is the fact that, as hard as it has been for them, they were on the boat. They did have the safety of the boat. They did have water, they did have access to food to a certain degree, and then the compound, they had water, they had food.

They’ve been in relatively safe places up to this point, and now we’re going to see them having to survive for the first time. We’re going to see Nick try to continue this spiritual journey that he seems to be on where he’s trying to find his place in the apocalypse. But we’re going to see a family in fracture, and then it may not be in the back half, but eventually we’ll find a way to earn their reconstitution.

So, what do you make of that? Do you think Daniel will return in tact? As a walker? Maybe another flashback?? Give us your predictions in the comments! Also make sure the catch the REST of the interview over at Yahoo TV!